LONDON — Just as the top four men's seeds seemed set to contest the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time in 20 years, dashing Frenchman Richard Gasquet fired a broadside of backhands straight through the script on Wednesday.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic, seven-times title holder Roger Federer and home hope Andy Murray all kept to their side of the bargain with straight sets wins. But Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, the French Open champion, let the side down.
Then again, there was no shame in a 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-4 11-9 defeat against a daring man playing one of the matches of his life in a contest dubbed "the battle of the backhands".